


Unforgotten

by kawaiimochi11



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 04:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9367121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawaiimochi11/pseuds/kawaiimochi11
Summary: If only he had said something that day. Maybe then things would have been different. But now it was too late, and all he could do was smile while drowning in his bittersweet feelings.





	

The blinding lights shone on the three idols on stage, and the loud cheers from the crowd were almost deafening if it weren’t for the headpieces jammed in their ears. Gaku moved his bangs out of the way from his face as he looked at the giant wave of pink, grey and blue glowsticks from the audience seats. 

“Thank you for coming to our live!” Gaku screamed in his microphone, and there were cheers in response. Turning back to the stage which was more visible for Gaku’s eyes, he spotted his teammates Ten and Ryuu waving to the girls in the audience. Both, like Gaku, had sweat glistening on their foreheads but their smiles were as bright as the spotlights as they all ran backstage, signaling the end of their concert. 

“Good work! We’ve made it through the final day!” Ryuu congratulated everybody, taking his time greeting every staff member backstage. Gaku stopped at the refreshments table to take his water bottle, chugging down all of the water until there was none left. 

“Gaku-san!” His ears perking up, Gaku took his headpieces out of his ears as he saw a small blonde figure running up to him. A small smile appearing on his face, Gaku put the empty water bottle down as he focused his attention to the girl who wanted to talk to him. 

“How was the live, Tsumugi?” Gaku. Tsumugi smiled up at him brightly, making Gaku’s heart skip a beat. 

“It was amazing! I was really touched by your solo performance!” Tsumugi complimented. Keeping his excitement in check, Gaku waved his hand like it was nothing. “I admire TRIGGER so much! Tsunashi-san’s sexiness, Kujou-san’s smile, and Gaku-san’s charisma… I wish I could get my IDOLiSH7 up to your level.” 

“What are you talking about? You guys won against us during your first Black or White. I’d say you’re already a manager on par with ours,” Gaku said. Tsumugi grinned sheepishly, shaking her head as she scratched her cheek in embarrassment. Gaku inhaled sharply as he grabbed another water bottle nearby and started drinking. _She’s so cute._

If it wasn’t obvious enough already, Gaku was in love. His father would probably kill him if a scandal ever came out, but Gaku couldn’t help it. He was in love with Takanashi Tsumugi and couldn’t help himself. Both Ten and Ryuu knew of his feelings and even other idols from other agencies noticed, so it was definitely a miracle that Tsumugi ended up being so dense. But it’s OK, Gaku repeated in his mind, because she’s still cute as ever. 

“G-Gaku, that’s my water bottle!” Ryuu said, flustered as he grabbed his water bottle from Gaku’s hands. 

“Huh? Oh, sorry,” Gaku muttered. Ryuu sheepishly greeted Tsumugi before he ran off again. “Why is he so jittery?” 

“Who knows…” Tsumugi muttered in response. It was silent between the two for a while and Gaku saw his chance. All of TRIGGER had a day off tomorrow as a celebration for finishing their nationwide tour. He usually spent the day helping out at his mother’s restaurant, but… 

“Tsumugi?” Gaku asked, grabbing her attention. The blonde tilted her head to the side in confusion. Suppressing his blush because of the sudden curveball, Gaku took a deep breath in order to ready himself. “Um, it’s the end of August, right? So, I was wondering—” 

“Gaku!” his manager’s sharp voice called out from the edge of the arena. Wincing, Gaku and Tsumugi turned their heads around to Anesagi Kaoru, TRIGGER’s manager. “We’re holding a meeting soon! Hurry up before the president gets mad at you!” 

“Huh?! I didn’t hear anything about a meeting… and the old man is here?” Gaku muttered. He apologetically looked at Tsumugi. “Sorry, I’ll have to tell you sometime later. Do you want me to escort you out?” 

“…It’s OK, you can go to the meeting!” Tsumugi said, giggling. “Good work today, Gaku-san!” Bowing politely to both Gaku and Anesagi, Tsumugi smiled and left the premises. Gaku stared at her retreating back before he got rudely dragged to the post-concert meeting. 

******** 

“…America tour?!” Gaku yelled as he stood up, slamming his hands on the table. 

“Gaku, sit down,” Ten deadpanned as he tugged on Gaku’s shirt, but Gaku refused to. 

“I can’t sit down! This is a big chance!” Gaku replied, shaking Ten off of him. “Old man, is this true?!” 

“You didn’t even listen to everything I had to say! Gaku, sit down!” President Yaotome, also known as Gaku’s “old man”, scolded. Gaku scowled at him and sat back down. To his right, Ryuu chuckled and at his other side Ten sighed. “Ryuunosuke and Ten had already known about this, but I wasn’t able to tell you because you were whoever knows where. You’ll be leaving at the end of the week so you can see the arena and practice speaking English if needed. I don’t have any complaints about Ten’s English but you two…” Gaku grimaced as Ryuu sighed to himself again. Ten looked oddly satisfied with himself at the compliment. “After the tour’s over, you’ll each be doing some solo activities and focusing on your solo career while occasionally getting together as TRIGGER. You guys are at the peak of your popularity, thanks to your performances at Re:vale’s anniversary concert. Don’t let it go to waste.” 

“Yes, president,” Anesagi sweetly said. The three members of TRIGGER nodded, and then the meeting was finished. As the president and Anesagi left the meeting room, they all sighed at once. The exhaustion from performing their concert was catching up to them and Gaku didn’t feel like moving from his slouched position in his chair. 

“I guess we’re gonna be big international stars now,” Ryuu mused as he stretched his long arms and legs. “America… I wonder if it’s as beautiful as they say.” 

“I’m sure it is. But this is going to affect our jobs here in Japan also… The president even cancelled our day off tomorrow so we could talk to the staff of our variety show,” Ten said. At his sentence, Gaku froze. 

“He cancelled our day off? Without our permission?” Gaku asked, whipping his head to Ten and Ryuu. Both of them nodded, Ryuu looking a bit disappointed. “Are you fucking serious?” 

“Language, Gaku…” Ryuu muttered, but Gaku brushed his comment off. “It’s true. I was planning on having a video chat with my brothers since I haven’t contacted them in so long, but we’ll be really busy this week so I can’t do that until after we land in America.” 

“That won’t be until the weekend then!” Gaku said. Ryuu shrugged, and the silver-haired man sighed. “I was really looking forward to a break also…” 

“Were you planning on doing something tomorrow?” Ten asked. 

“I was…going to ask somebody to go with me somewhere,” Gaku vaguely explained. 

“Hmm,” Ten hummed, and Gaku broke out into a cold sweat. Ten was a smart kid, much to Gaku’s chagrin, so he probably figured out what he was thinking already. “Now that I think about it, our manager told me that you were talking to Takanashi-san from IDOLiSH7?” Ten acted as if he didn’t know, but Gaku wasn’t convinced. 

“Ah, I saw her also!” Ryuu replied cheerfully. Ryuu was a bit more oblivious than Ten. “She came to watch our concert! I’m glad she seemed to enjoy herself. Gaku was talking to her after we finished, right?” Gaku stiffened up, and he noticed Ten’s smile turn into a smirk. He was aiming for this. 

“Y-Yeah. I wanted to ask her something but Anesagi cut us off before I could say it,” Gaku murmured. The smirk still on his face, Ten stood up and patted Gaku’s head. Gaku immediately felt himself get angry at the action as he glared up at Ten with piercing grey eyes. Giving him a knowing look, Ten just smiled. 

“You’ll get your chance,” he muttered nonchalantly as his hand left Gaku’s hair. Gaku stood up immediately and chased after him. 

“Hey, Ten, you brat! Get back here!” he yelled. Laughing, Ryuu merely followed the other two out of the meeting room. 

Later that night, Gaku sat on his bed in his room, looking up at the high ceiling as he still tried to absorb the international debut offer. “America…that’s around 12 hours away by plane?” he muttered quietly. “…And tomorrow we have work… Goodbye, day off.” 

Suddenly he remembered about Tsumugi. Sitting up immediately, Gaku scrambled for his phone that was lying on his counter. “I need to tell Tsumugi!” he exclaimed. Burying himself under his blanket, Gaku’s actions were reminiscent of a giddy little kid who just got a raise in allowance. He turned his phone on and immediately opened up Rabbit Chat. He scrolled until he found the familiar name of the girl he loved, and typed out his message. __

[Gaku] Tsumugi! I have good news for you lol

[Tsumugi] Good evening, Gaku-san. What is it? 

[Gaku] TRIGGER’s doing a tour in America! 

[Tsumugi] A-A-A-America?! That’s amazing! Congratulations!!!! 

A sticker appeared from Tsumugi’s side; the happy rabbit was opening up a party popper of confetti. Smiling, Gaku sent his own sticker of a personified pudding wearing sunglasses. “She’s happy for us,” he whispered to himself. __

[Gaku] Dunno when we’re doing it tho

[Tsumugi] Even so, that’s amazing! I want to go to America also… 

[Gaku] I’ll take you with me lol 

[Tsumugi] EEHH??? 

[Gaku] I’m just joking 

[Gaku] Cute lol 

[Tsumugi] ?! 

[Tsumugi] I’m not cute!! o////o 

[Gaku] You’re cute lol 

Gaku felt his face turn red at the sight of Tsumugi blushing in embarrassment. He probably looked like an idiot grinning at his phone, but he didn’t really mind. In reality he did want to bring Tsumugi with him to America so they can tour the country and see the sights and eat amazing food, but he knew she was too busy with her own work as IDOLiSH7’s manager and he wouldn’t have much time to be with her also. Reality continued to hit him hard as he continued thinking about the future. 

_A tour in America means that I won’t be in Japan for a while. I knew that, of course, but…it means not being able to see those guys again. Especially Tsumugi. I haven’t even told her how I feel…_

A message lit up on his phone from the same girl he was thinking about. Turning his phone on again, Gaku looked at the new message from Tsumugi. __

[Tsumugi] Oh yes, did you want to say something to me before?

[Tsumugi] You were talking about how it was the end of August…? 

That’s right. I was going to ask her out, Gaku thought. He had wanted to go somewhere with her on his day off; maybe to a festival, or to an aquarium, or maybe even an amusement park. He just wanted to be with her. But now— __

[Gaku] Ah, I did say that…

[Gaku] You don’t have to worry. It was nothing lol 

[Tsumugi] Oh, I see. 

A frown came on to his face after seeing her reply. She didn’t know how heartbroken he felt. Because Gaku was an idol, he was prohibited to profess his love for her. As if it was adding salt to his wound, he also was encouraged by his father and manager to forget about Tsumugi, because she was the manager of a rival idol group as well as the daughter of his father’s sworn enemy in the entertainment world. So many factors were against him, yet he couldn’t stop loving Tsumugi for who she was. It was like Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers who couldn’t love each other. However, in Gaku’s case, he was left in the dark loving her without anyway to tell her how he felt. It was a bittersweet, one-sided love. 

Tsumugi had to sleep, so they said their goodbyes before Gaku turned his phone off and put it back on the nightstand. He lay his face down against his soft pillow, continuing to think about his cancelled day off which he could’ve used to spend time with Tsumugi. He slowly closed his eyes, the disturbed feeling in his heart lingering. 

_Maybe I should’ve said something to her…_

******** 

Three years had passed quickly, just like the wind. The familiar scenery in Tokyo remained unchanged, but Gaku still felt like a foreigner in his homeland because he had never gotten the chance to stand and take in the sights. Adjusting his fedora and keeping his sunglasses on, he walked through the streets to get to his home. 

The tour in America was a giant success, and it paved the way for new types of work to open up for TRIGGER. He had traveled back to Japan with Ryuu while Ten stayed in America, and immediately the two were too busy with their own work to even have time to appear on their regular show as TRIGGER. Gaku often hosted the show alone (but with Momo and Yuki from Re:vale as guests, he wasn’t very lonely) but on days he didn’t have shootings for the variety show, he was acting in dramas. Gaku had debuted as a solo artist right when he came back to America; his first single was used as the opening theme for a drama he starred in as a desperate older brother who was in love with his oblivious and airheaded sister. His popularity skyrocketed after millions deemed his acting to be top-notch. Gaku also kept his position as “#1 most wanted to be hugged by” man for three whole years. Despite the grueling expectations, Gaku didn’t mind the fame and work because he loved seeing his fans happy with his achievements. 

Yet a small part of him longed to settle down and just take a break. He was too busy to even meet with Ryuu, and Ten was still in America acting in musicals. Likewise, Gaku was unable to keep in private contact with other coworkers; he hadn’t seen IDOLiSH7 very often aside from work and even Momo and Yuki refrained from contacting him because he was so busy. 

The most frustrating thing he often lamented about was the fact that he was unable to see Tsumugi. She was with IDOLiSH7 almost 24/7, but even though they had work together, he was never able to take his time to talk. However, he was still in love with her. Gaku loved seeing her smile and do her best. There were days where he wanted to message her and confess his love, but he either ended up being too busy or unable to properly profess his feelings. He still kept in contact somewhat, but their conversations were very short and oftentimes prematurely broken off. Gaku felt bad that he couldn’t talk to her, but at the same time he couldn’t help it. _I am an idol. It’s only natural._ Before he knew it, Gaku had reached the more familiar streets near his home where his father would probably be waiting. Not very excited to meet with his father, Gaku took his sunglasses off and let out a big sigh as he continued walking. However he quickly stopped as he saw somebody oddly familiar in front of him. 

“…Gaku-san?” the voice called out. It was soft and gentle, just like— 

“…Tsumugi?” he muttered without thinking. The female moved her head to look up at him, and her wide pink eyes blinked slowly. Gaku’s eyes widened as well. _It was her!_ “Tsumugi!” 

“Long time no see!” Tsumugi said as she bowed politely. Looking at her again, Gaku noticed just how much three years had changed her once 18-year-old self. Her clothes were still pastel pink in color, but somehow she looked more mature with her chiffon blouse, knee-length skirt and white heels. She was slightly taller than he had remembered her to be, possibly due to the heels. He was so used to remembering her as a cute teenager that seeing her as a woman over 20 made Gaku’s heart thump against his chest in a different way. _She’s…beautiful._ “Are you going home?” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Gaku said, taking his fedora off and smiling. “What about you?” 

“I’m walking to meet with somebody,” she said. She checked her watch and looked back at him. “Do you want to talk for a while?” 

They went to a nearby lookout point where the entire city could be seen. It was around sunset as well, so the orange glow of the sun setting illuminated their faces as they talked near the ridge of the area. “No matter how many times I come here, the sight is always so breathtaking,” Tsumugi commented as she looked out. Gaku wasn’t looking at the city, but more at Tsumugi herself. 

The summer breeze lightly brushed against her blonde hair, and her locks swayed gently with it. She had looked like a fairy from a fairy tale, completely capturing Gaku in her charm. He couldn’t believe that he was finally alone with her, able to talk to her after so many failed attempts. 

“…Yeah, that’s right,” he said to answer her question. _But you’re the one who’s even more breathtaking._ “How has life been for you? Are those guys causing you any trouble?” 

“Oh, do you mean IDOLiSH7? They’re energetic like always!” Tsumugi said as she giggled. “Well, there are times when they’ve argued a lot but…” Gaku chuckled since they haven’t changed at all. 

“I see, that’s good,” he replied. “Anything else?” 

“…Yes,” Tsumugi said as she smiled. Her fingers lightly brushed over something, and Gaku followed her gaze to look at it. 

Suddenly he felt like time had stopped and the world had gone grey as he looked at the shiny object on her finger. The bright orange sunset now looked dull to him compared to the diamond he focused his eyes on. _A ring?_ “…I’m getting married soon.” 

“…Married?” Gaku asked quietly. Tsumugi smiled again as she nodded, apparently not noticing Gaku’s reaction as she looked out at the city. 

“My father introduced me to him. At first I was really apprehensive to how he was setting me up, but then I got to know him a lot more after work and…in one word, he’s amazing,” Tsumugi said. Gaku was silent, a slow realization coming to him. 

_…She’s getting married,_ he thought, eyeing her lovestruck smile and dreamy eyes. She was completely taken in by her partner. She’s going to spend the rest of her life with somebody she loves who can love her back and give her happiness. _And that someone…isn’t me._ Smiling wryly, Gaku struggled to get the words out of his mouth. 

“I see. Congratulations.” 

_I need to tell her how I feel._

“I wish you two happiness.” 

_I’ve always—_

“Thank you so much, Gaku-san! I’ll definitely invite you, and Kujou-san, and Tsunashi-san…!” Tsumugi said as she grabbed his hands in joy, apparently elated that her idols TRIGGER would be celebrating her special day with her. Gaku nodded, but in his mind he was fighting his own desires. He just wanted to whisk her away and tell her that he loved her, that he was in love with her ever since they met. But how could he tell her now? He would just ruin his friendship with her, especially since he had loved her but she was in love with another man. After being away from Tsumugi for so long, Gaku didn’t know if he had the resolution to break this relationship with her. Opening his mouth, Gaku was about to say something. 

But he couldn’t. Tsumugi had left him behind because she was late to her meeting. Gaku stared at the empty space that Tsumugi was formerly standing at, slowly absorbing what had just transpired. The entire world felt like a heavy weight on his shoulders even as he slowly walked back to his home. Gaku reached his untouched room and turned on the lights, finding his bed and everything else still intact just like he had left it the last time. Sitting down on his bed, Gaku took out his phone and blankly looked at the screen. 

Suddenly a rabbit chat appeared. It was from Tsumugi who thanked him for talking to her and that she would send him the details of the wedding at a latter date. Seeing the nostalgic message feature along with Tsumugi’s name made Gaku’s eyes well up with tears. He gritted his teeth together in frustration, unable to do anything other than drown in his emotions of regret and sadness. The tears fell down his pale cheeks and Gaku let out a small sob, the despair slowly engulfing him. 

_I should’ve said something to her…!_

******** 

Gaku got out of the car and quickly spotted Ryuu in a tuxedo with slicked back hair standing in front of the venue. “Good morning, Gaku,” Ryuu said as they exchanged nods. “How are you feeling?” 

“Fine, why are you asking?” Gaku asked. It was the day of Tsumugi’s grand wedding; her father had used most of the company’s money to secure a beautiful wedding dress and restaurant for her, and the members of IDOLiSH7 worked tirelessly to make it a perfect day for the bride. Ten was unable to come back from America but both Ryuu and Gaku promised him that they’d send his regards to Tsumugi. 

“Ah well…I was just asking,” Ryuu said. Gaku faked a joking smile as he nudged Ryuu’s rib, making the taller male jump. “What was that for?!” 

“I’m fine! You worry too much. That’s why you’re getting wrinkles,” Gaku replied. Immediately Ryuu took out a compact mirror from his pocket and checked his face for “wrinkles” like Gaku had said. “I was joking.” 

The two headed into the restaurant and spotted Tsumugi at the entrance with her newly wed husband. She smiled brightly as they approached her. “Thank you both for coming today even when you’re busy!” Tsumugi said as both of them gave her a brief hug while shaking hands with the groom. Gaku didn’t have much of an opinion on the groom but he seemed like a reliable person. He’s the man Tsumugi fell for. I have no complaints. “Kujou-san couldn’t make it?” 

“No, but he told us to congratulate you on his behalf. He wants a copy of the picture though,” Ryuu replied. Tsumugi giggled and Gaku had to stop himself from letting any type of reaction show. She’s another man’s wife. No matter how much I loved her, I’m not going to let it show. 

“That reminds me, Gaku-san, my father was looking for you?” Tsumugi said. “He’s near the stage, so you can see him once we take the picture.” Gaku nodded, knowing why exactly but both Ryuu and Tsumugi were still confused. “Did you do something?” 

“No, don’t worry about it,” Gaku said. “Let’s take that picture. We don’t want to keep other people waiting.” Smiling, he lightly pushed her forward towards her groom. 

******** 

“—So, um, you can go ask your nearest shop for a copy of the new CD to rent—” 

“Riku, CD shops nowadays don’t allow you to rent.” 

“Huh?!” 

Gaku and Ryuu laughed at how nervous Riku was on stage as he tried to promote IDOLiSH7’s new single with IDOLiSH7’s leader Yamato. “He’s their center, why is he so nervous?” Gaku chuckled as Yamato retorted back at Riku like always. 

“It’s cute, though,” Ryuu commented as the two walked off stage, still arguing in the background. Tsumugi’s father walked on stage and smiled through his kind and wise eyes. 

“Thank you, Riku-kun and Yamato-kun,” he said. “Next, I’d like to call upon a certain individual who wrote a song specially for the bride and groom. He packed all of his effort into the lyrics and he’ll perform it live today.” 

“Eh?!” Tsumugi asked from her position at the main table. She was completely shocked just as expected. “I didn’t hear anything about this! Who’s performing it?!” Smiling to himself, Gaku stood up and immediately there were reactions from everybody. Tsumugi was of course the most surprised. “Gaku-san??” Gaku walked on the stage and took the microphone from Tsumugi’s father who smiled and walked off stage. 

“Good morning. I’m Yaotome Gaku,” he introduced. The audience clapped slowly, most people still confused by his sudden appearance. He looked down at his love who merely stared up at him with wide and dilated eyes. He didn’t want her to cry, but the only thing he could do was smile down at her. “Tsumugi, I wrote this song to congratulate you on your wedding. I hope you enjoy it.” 

As Gaku continued to sing his song made specially for her, Tsumugi was completely awestruck by the performance and by how beautiful the song sounded. She didn’t even know she was crying until her husband handed her a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. Gaku felt like going down to help her himself, but he knew it wasn’t in his place and continued to sing. 

“ _I’m wishing for your happiness_ ,” Gaku sang as he held his hand out at Tsumugi with a smile on his face. Gaku was still in love with her, but he knew that he couldn’t do anything now. But he didn’t mind. More than anything, Gaku had wanted to see her smile, laugh and cry with somebody she loved. Even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness, he didn’t mind. 

Tsumugi’s happiness was his happiness, and he was fine with that. 

_“I’m glad I met you."_

_I've always been in love with you, Tsumugi._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my fic!! I've racked this idea in my head for about 7 months? Somewhere around there. I've thought of this ever since I've listened to the lovely song "Wasuremono" by Hatano Wataru. It's a beautiful song and I love it a lot. This fic is loosely based off of that same song. I hope you enjoyed reading it! If you would be so kind as to leave a comment or kudo, that would be amazing. ^^ Thank you again for reading!!


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